PRINCETON, Ill. — Tristan Borovicka, an eight grade student at Princeton Logan Junior High School, will play for the 2024 All-Illinois Junior Band as one of just two tenor saxophone players to be selected for the honor.
Borovicka has played tenor, alto and bass saxophones for years. This past fall, he joined 7th and 8th grade students all over the state of Illinois to try out for the All-Illinois Junior Band.
According to his mother, Brittney Borovicka, Tristan is the only student from Princeton Logan to make the cut for the band.
The 2024 All-Illinois Junior Band will be a two-day event for the students, culminating in a Saturday afternoon concert on January 20 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
To qualify, students must go through an audition process that begins with a nomination from their own school band director. Then the young musicians record themselves playing the required material which is blindly judged by independent adjudicators.
The All-Illinois Junior Band's goals are to provide an opportunity for talented middle school students to perform excellent literature under the direction of a distinguished conductor; to interact with other outstanding young musicians from across the state; and to inspire a lifelong love of music and potentially the pursuit of musical studies.
Borovicka joined The Current on News 8 to show off his musical abilities and talk about his dedication to his craft, just days before the concert. To watch his full interview, you can click on the video above.
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